Newcastle 1 Aston Villa 1

Dion Dublin's second half goal cancelled out Nolberto Solano's opener to earn the visitors a point.

A hard-fought battle saw Alan Shearer require stitches to a head wound after a clash of heads with Gareth Barry, which led to Barry not returning for the second half.

Newcastle broke the deadlock on 37 minutes with a fine curling free kick from Solano after Barry had fouled Kieron Dyer on the edge of the area.

Shearer almost doubled the lead soon after the break but his fierce shot fizzed just wide of the post.

Villa came more into the match in the second half and drew level on 69 minutes with Dublin coming off the bench to head home Steve Staunton's cross with virtually his first touch of the ball.

Newcastle poured forward in search of a winner and substitute Lomano Lua Lua almost provided it, but his shot in the dying second hit the outside of the post.